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Topic Room "Higher Education Institutions"

Aims, Agendas, Actors

How can the sustainable development goals be incorporated into the structures of higher education institutions (HEIs)? And in what ways can international networks support this integration? The sessions in this topic room were dealing with possible answers to these questions (such as the "green office model").

Slot 1 ‒ The Green Office Model

Workshop The Green Office Model: A platform to invite students, staff and academics to contribute to the institution’s sustainability efforts

Felix Spira, Anselm Grahl, Tim Strasser (Germany)

How to establish a sustainability platform that invites every stakeholder group to contribute to the sustainability agenda?

The Green Office Model: A platform to invite students, staff and academics to contribute to the institution’s sustainability efforts.

The participants had the opportunity to reflect on the Green Office (GO) Model and to discuss how to establish a sustainability platform that invites students and other stakeholder groups to contribute to the university’s sustainability efforts. Different case studies were presented and time was given to share and reflect the sustainability transformation at participants’ own universities.

Find more information about the GO Model and the challenges and opportunities regarding the implementation in the presentation (PDF).

Photos: Daniela Friedrich

Slot 2 ‒ Challenges of Diversity Management

Workshop How can we deal with a shrinking work force in times of demographical change? Workshop on the forthcoming challenges of diversity management

Bror Giesenbauer, University of Bremen (Germany)

What is diversity management and why is it important in the context of social sustainability? Bror Giesenbauer (Universität Bremen) discussed the impact of demographic change on academia and society in general with the participants in the workshop

How Can We Deal with a Shrinking Work Force in Times of Demographic Change?Workshop on the Forthcoming Challenges of Diversity Management.

Photo: pexels, CC0 Lizenz

The workshop focused on viable solutions and used structured group settings to come up with systemic approaches to mitigate the escalating conflict of work and family life: Asking the “Crash-Question” and the “Miracle-Question” engaged the participants of the workshop to picture how academia and society should look or may NOT look like in order to cope with demographic change. For more information, also have a look at the presentation (PDF).

Results

Crash Question: What would have to happen to ensure that we fail completely to cope with demographic change?

We turned back in time to anti diversity

We have less sustainability (use of resources...)

The facility rate declines

The competition in academia increases

We have a closed system (don´t let anybody in)

Miracle Question: How would you notice that the miracle (= overcome demographic change) had happened? What would be different? How would you feel? How would you and others act?

More children → visible on campus, more support for academics/students with children, no disadvantages for parents

Atmosphere of freedom & trust

Same rights & duties for both sexes

We have no borders → everybody is free to move and pursue their dreams

Equality, justice & chances

Basic income for everyone

Equal access to information

Well-educated citizens

Everyone is heard and included

Empathy, even for extremists to some extend

No one “takes it all”

Slot 3 ‒ Innovation Potential of International Networks

Workshop The innovation potential of international networks. Fostering sustainability in higher education institutions via international cooperation

What should sustainability networking events in HEIs look like to contribute meaningfully to the sustainability discourse? What are the “ingredients” for a good conference? Katrin Risch (Freie Universität Berlin) conducted the workshop

The Innovation Potential of International Networks: Fostering Sustainability in HEIs via International Cooperation.

The Universität Hamburg Center for a Sustainable University, University of Hamburg (Germany), Moderation: Christine Stecker

The FlashClash was an intuitive, spontaneous discussion and negotiation session, in which four visitors played the roles of different (university) stakeholders, representing divergent interests and searching for a common solution regarding one SDG-topic. Christine Stecker (KNU, Universität Hamburg) was the moderator of the discussion.

The stakeholder roles and the SDG-topics were chosen randomly:

In the first round only university representatives – a student, a president, an administration staff member and a professor – discussed their positions and contributions to SDG 5 “Gender Equality”.

In the second round a university president, an NGO representative, the CEO of a large company and a journalist discussed responsibilities and engagement regarding SDG 7 “Affordable and Clean Energy”.

Stakeholder expectations on a sustainable university – a case study of the University of Hamburg.

They shortly introduced their research project and especially the Stakeholder Theory as a framework (Presentation (PDF)). Using the world café method the workshop participants had the opportunity to discuss different aspects regarding sustainability at universities and stakeholder expectations using governance-equalizers as a tool; the topics of the five tables were:

Scientific Excellence vs. Social Relevance

Educational approach humanistic vs. utilitarian

Regional contribution vs. global contribution

Scientists only vs. full integration of external actors

High autonomy vs. full integration of stakeholder expectations

Photos: Markus Scholz, scholzfoto.de

After the workshop Prof. Dr. Walter Leal gave a presentation on

Reinvigorating sustainability research and the implementation the SDGs: The role of inter-university sustainable development research program

relating to the question of responsibility of HEIs. Walter Leal introduced the “Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme (IUSDRP)”: A network containing the three key pillars – research income, publications and visibility in the field of SDGs and Sustainable Development – in order to foster research on sustainability and SDGs. Find more information about IUSDRP on the HAW Hamburg website (PDF).